Beyond These Walls
by kelsmar
Summary: Everyone thought things at Dalton Academy were proper and perfect. But the New Directions are about to learn that beyond outside walls, things are not what they seem.


**Hello readers! I'm really excited to be starting this new story, but before we get into it I'd like to start out by giving you some important background information.**

 **1\. This story will be centered around the time of season three of Glee, so none of the characters have graduated yet. New Directions will be in frequently, as will the Warblers.**

 **2\. This is _not_ an AU story, but certain events (for example, the Blaine slushying incident) are not going to be mentioned. In this story, New Directions and the Warblers are friends. (Sort of.)**

 **3\. Certain characters will not make an appearance, such as Rory or Joe. This is simply because I don't want to have too many characters involved.**

 **4\. For the most part, this story will be pretty upbeat. However, there _will_ be some dark themes in later chapters, including suicide. This is an early trigger warning, and I will warn again at the beginning of that future chapter.**

 **If you have any other questions, feel free to ask me!**

 **Lastly, I hope that everyone enjoys this story. I am going to work very hard at updating regularly and I thank anyone in advance who comes along for the ride.**

* * *

Kurt sighed, listening to Mr. Johnson drone on about the importance of understanding the quadratic formula. _This isn't even a part of this course._ He thought to himself. He glanced at the clock - five more minutes to go, and Mr. Johnson was known for not letting students out until three on the dot. Mike was seated next to Kurt, face down and drooling all over his textbook. Across the room, Puck was trying - and failing - to balance a pencil on his nose.

The fact that it was Friday wasn't helping, _and_ the fact that Kurt had plans tonight wasn't helping. All of them had plans, actually. A few weeks ago when Kurt and Blaine had gone to Dalton for a visit, Nick had stated that his parents were going out of town and that he was planning on having a party. He promptly invited Blaine and Kurt and told them to invite the rest of New Directions.

So they did and everyone jumped on board, Puck stating that he could get his hands on alcohol for them to bring. Kurt himself was excited, as the last party he attended was the Rachel Berry train wreck. He didn't even drink that much there, as he was still trying to impress Blaine.

 _Don't have to worry about that anymore._ They were together now, so Kurt could get as sloppy as he wanted and not really have to worry about it.

The bell finally rang, snapping Kurt out of his thoughts and signaling the end of the school day. Puck came up to Kurt and Mike's desk. "I'm going to get the goods in a bit. We're all meeting at your house later?"

Kurt nodded. "Everyone should be there by nine, then we'll head out to Westerville."

"Sounds good." Puck high-fived Kurt and Mike on his way out. "See you dudes later!"

Kurt said goodbye to Mike, dropped the books he didn't need off at his locker, then headed out to the parking lot to meet Finn, Rachel and Blaine. Finn and Rachel were already there, making out in the backseat of Kurt's navigator. He made a face, regretting giving Finn the spare key.

Just as he was about to pound on the back windows, Blaine appeared from behind the car and grabbed his hand. "Hey."

Kurt smiled, his anger melting away at the sight of his boyfriend. "Hey. How was the end of your day?"

Blaine shrugged. "Uneventful. Couldn't really stop thinking about tonight, so I was distracted."

"Me too. I'm excited to see the boys and even _more_ excited to party with you for real this time."

Blaine looked over his shoulder briefly then turned back to Kurt, quickly kissing him before pulling back. "We'll finish that later." He winked at Kurt before getting in the passenger seat of the car.

Kurt fondly rolled his eyes before climbing in the driver's seat and starting the car. Finn, having been snapped out of his make-out session with Rachel, turned to Kurt. "So how big is this house we're going to tonight?"

"I'm not sure." Kurt replied. "I've never been to Nick's house. Blaine?"

"It's fairly large. His basement is finished so that's probably where we'll be. The basement is a bit bigger than Rachel's I'd say."

"Sweet! This'll be fun dudes."

"I agree." Rachel said. "Plus, I'm sure to find a new duet partner tonight."

" _Sure_ you will, Rach." Kurt replied. Everyone fell into casual conversation after that. The ride to Kurt and Finn's house was just a short ten minutes, and before they knew it they were pulling into the driveway.

Finn immediately dragged Blaine upstairs, yelling something about a round of Call of Duty. Neither Kurt nor Blaine minded - Kurt told Rachel he would help her get ready, and he also needed to get himself ready.

They watched a movie first, talking and catching up on gossip. Then Kurt straightened Rachel's hair and did her makeup. The outfit she picked wasn't bad - it was a typical Rachel dress, but he let her get away with it. Just as Kurt put the finishing touches on her, Finn and Blaine wandered into Kurt's room. Upon seeing Rachel, Finn grinned at her and pulled her out of the room.

"Finn, don't mess up her hair!" Kurt called after them.

Blaine took a seat in Kurt's desk chair as Kurt styled his own hair, spraying it into place. "Think everyone will get here on time?"

Kurt snorted. "Are the New Directions _ever_ collectively on time?"

Blaine chuckled. "Good point."

"So besides the Warblers, is anyone else going to be at the party?" Kurt asked.

Blaine nodded. "Nick said that both Wes and David were bringing their girlfriends, and that they were going to bring one other girl. I think that's it."

"Sounds like quite the crowd - should be interesting."

Kurt finished his hair while Blaine re-gelled his and the two fell into casual conversation. Rachel and Finn eventually reappeared, Rachel needing her hair touched up despite Kurt's warning. Not long after the doorbell rang and Finn dashed downstairs to get it.

Puck's booming voice flowed throughout the house followed by Sam's. Kurt, Blaine and Rachel headed downstairs to greet them, followed by Tina, Mike, Artie and Mercedes. Eventually Quinn, Santana and Brittany arrived last.

"Okay." Kurt began. "Since Blaine is the only one who knows where he's going we should try to take as few cars as possible. Three is probably good."

"I'll drive." Puck said. "I've got all the stuff in my car anyways."

"I can drive too." Tina added.

Blaine nodded. "Sounds good. I'll let Nick know we're on our way."

* * *

The ride to Nick's house was hectic, but less than Kurt honestly expected - they only had to stop twice so the three cars could catch up with each other. Finn also demanded that they stop at a gas station so he could use the bathroom, stating he "would die if he had to wait another twenty-five minutes!" Kurt agreed, simply because he didn't want Finn piss anywhere in his car.

Eventually they all made it and Puck practically dove out of his car, thundering up the front steps and balancing bags of alcohol in both arms. Blaine and Kurt managed to push to the front of the group and Blaine rang the doorbell.

Several loud voices could be heard from inside and eventually the door opened, Jeff having answered it. "Hey guys, you maaade it!" It was clear that the blonde was already a little tipsy.

"Hey Jeff!" Blaine said, pulling him in for a hug. "How are you?"

"Me?" Jeff replied. "I'm _so_ great, _really_ , _so_ great." He then suddenly burst into a fit of giggles, covering his face with one hand and opening the door the rest of the way with his other hand. "Come in and party!"

Jeff led New Directions downstairs to the spacious, finished basement where sure enough the party was in full swing. Music was blaring but Jeff managed to get Nick's attention. "Nick!" Jeff stumbled over to his boyfriend, throwing his arm around his neck. "Look who's here!"

"Hey guys!" The equally tipsy brunette greeted the group. "Sooo glad you made it!" Nick wrapped an arm around Jeff's waist, pulling him closer. It made Kurt smile - he had always admired their relationship long before him and Blaine began dating, so it was nice to see them still going strong.

"Thanks for inviting us!" Kurt yelled over the music.

Nick pointed to a table behind them. "Go ahead, everyone have a drink!"

Puck didn't waste any time getting into his stash, passing out drinks for everyone there. Kurt and Blaine accepted theirs and wandered the room, greeting the other Warblers. They eventually ran into David and Wes on the other side of the room.

"Blaine, Kurt!" David greeted them. "Good to see you guys!"

"Likewise!" Blaine replied. "How are you guys?"

"Doing good!" Wes answered. "Busy, but good." Three girls then approached the group. Kurt recognized two of them - Wes's girlfriend Ellie and David's girlfriend Zoey.

"Hey guys!" Ellie said. She hugged both Kurt and Blaine, which they returned. Neither of them were super close with Ellie or Zoey but Kurt thought that they were sweet girls.

"It's been a while!" Zoey added, grabbing David's hand. "This is our friend, Maia." She gestured to the third girl Kurt didn't know.

Maia had shoulder-length, brown, wavy hair that was parted to the side. She had fair skin and bright blue eyes that Kurt noticed immediately, and she had done her makeup to highlight them quite nicely. She was a skinny little thing, and it was clear that she played some sort of sport. She had on a black t-shirt, light skinny jeans and black combat boots - Kurt approved of the whole look immensely.

"Maia, this is Kurt," Zoey nodded to him. "and Blaine."

"Nice to meet you both!" She smiled at them. At that moment Puck shimmied over to them, clearly having already had a few drinks.

"Hey dude, you're wanted on the other side of the room." Puck danced around in circles, pointing at Kurt. He quickly lost his balance however and stumbled forward, just barely catching himself before landing on his face.

Kurt rolled his eyes. "And this ball of grace would be Noah Puckerman. Puck meet Ellie, Zoey and Maia."

Puck regained his composure and flashed his signature grin at the three girls. He, and everyone else in New Direction's for that matter, had been informed that Zoey and Ellie were taken. Kurt didn't think to ask about Maia, but it didn't appear that she was there with anyone.

However, Kurt noticed that Puck seemed to have composed himself and was looking... _shyly_ at Maia? That was odd for him - he was usually one of the most confident people Kurt knew.

Blaine must have noticed the change as well and said, "Puck, you said someone was needed across the room?"

Puck snapped out of his daze and nodded at Blaine. "Yeah! Mercedes and Tina were looking for Kurt."

"I'll catch up with everyone here." Blaine said, flashing Kurt a smile. "Go find your girls." Kurt pecked him on the cheek and smiled back before working his way across the room. Sure enough, he found Mercedes and Tina laughing hysterically over something with Nick and Jeff.

"Kurt, you found us!" Mercedes managed to say through her laughter. Kurt chuckled at his friends - it seemed that they all managed to get drunk within half an hour.

"That I did." Kurt replied. "Puck said you needed me for something?"

"Yeah, we want you to dance with us!" Tina answered, dragging him to the dance floor with Mercedes, Nick and Jeff not far behind.

Kurt happily obliged, laughing with his friends and jumping around to the upbeat Nicki Minaj song playing. He continued drinking, loosening up more and more. Eventually Blaine found him and they danced together, along with several other Warblers and members of New Directions. It really was a great party, and Kurt was glad to see all of his friends having a good time together.

He wasn't sure, but out of the corner of his eye he thought he saw Puck dancing with Maia. Raising an eyebrow, he made a mental note to ask either Zoey or Ellie about that another time.

Eventually things began winding down, with the majority of everyone's buzz slowly but surely wearing off. Kurt found himself seated on Blaine's lap on a recliner, his arms around Blaine's neck. To his left, Nick and Jeff sat close to each other on a couch. Jeff had his arm securely around Nick's waist and Nick's head was resting on Jeff's shoulder; his eyes were closed and Kurt wondered if he was asleep. Wes and David sat next to the couple. Their girlfriends and Maia had been picked up by their designated driver not long ago and headed home. Mercedes, Tina, Mike, Puck and Quinn sat on the floor in front of a small couch Finn and Rachel were occupying. Across the room more Warblers were chatting with each other and the remaining members of New Directions.

"How's Dalton?" Blaine asked. "And the Warblers?" Rachel perked up, probably expecting to hear some useful information about their competition for the upcoming Regionals.

"Same old Dalton you know and love." Jeff answered. "And same old vicious Warblers council." He nodded jokingly towards Wes and David.

"Mostly Wes." David said, resulting in a playful shoving match between the two. Kurt noticed Blaine watching them somewhat sadly - he knew that Blaine really missed Dalton and his close friends, even though he's made new friends at McKinley.

To be honest, Kurt had been worried about Blaine's transfer. At first he was elated that Blaine had done it for their relationship, and for the first couple of weeks Kurt was too happy to have him there to notice how _Blaine_ truly felt.

He wasn't as happy as he had been at Dalton, that was easy to see. To make matters worse, Kurt learned that not all the members of New Directions weren't very welcoming to Blaine, particularly Finn. Kurt had confronted Finn, but his stepbrother simply stated that he wasn't doing anything. It upset Kurt, because glee club was supposed to be the one place where they all felt welcome and accepted. It also confused him, because before Blaine transferred everyone had welcomed his as a friend with open arms. So what changed?

Regardless, Kurt had let it go for the time, telling himself he'd keep a close eye on Blaine. He _really_ didn't want any major drama his senior year, especially not at the very start of it. He just wanted to keep the peace between everyone.

Small talk continued for a while, but everyone eventually decided to crash for the night. New Directions crept out around ten the next morning, but Kurt and Blaine were sure to find Nick first, waking him up and thanking him for the invite. The group agreed to meet for coffee on Tuesday afternoon.

The ride back to Lima was relatively silent, mainly because everyone was nursing hangovers. But even Blaine, who was normally chatty no matter the hangover, was unusually quiet. Kurt was going to make sure to talk with him as soon as possible.

* * *

Unfortunately, Kurt didn't get the chance to talk with Blaine again in person until Monday at school. Blaine needed to be home as soon as possible on Saturday due to family obligations that extended into Sunday. Sure they texted, but Kurt really wanted to speak with Blaine in person.

The two sat in the corner of the choir room, and Kurt intended to talk to him while they waited for rehearsal to start.

"Are you okay?" Kurt asked him.

Blaine nodded. "I'm fine, why?" His answer seemed forced.

"You know you can tell me if something's bothering you." Kurt paused. "At least, I hope that you feel like you can."

Blaine sighed. "I trust you with _everything_ , Kurt."

"Then tell me, what's got you so down these past couple of days? Did something happen at Nick's party?"

Blaine shook his head. "No. I mean, nothing bad. I guess it just reminded me of how much I miss Dalton and everything."

There it was - and it was exactly what Kurt had expected. Kurt missed Dalton too, particularly their friends. But he figured it was a lot harder for Blaine.

"I know how much it means to you that I'm here." Blaine continued. "It's just hard right now. I haven't been here that long, and I know I need to give it more time."

Kurt took Blaine's hand. "I know it's hard. And I'm _so_ proud of you for doing this. But Blaine, if -" Kurt doesn't get to finish his sentence, as Mr. Schuester enters the room and tells them all to settle down, as they're already running late.

Ten minutes or so into Mr. Schuester's lecture about this weeks lesson, Blaine's phone goes off with the alert of a text message.

He quickly silences it and apologizes. "I'm sorry Mr. Schuester, I must have forgotten to silence that."

"No problem Blaine, just make sure it's off next time." He's about to continue his lesson, but Kurt hears Finn scoff and sees him shake his head from his seat in the front of the room.

"Care to share what your problem is Finn?" Kurt asks. Everyone's eyes are suddenly on him, but he doesn't back down.

Finn turns in his seat to look at Kurt. "I don't have a problem." There's a sarcastic tone to it that makes Kurt continue.

"Oh I think you do. And I wanna know what it is."

"Let it go, Kurt." Finn turns back around as to say he's declared the conversation over. But Kurt isn't done.

" _No_." That gets him Finn's attention once again. "You've _clearly_ had an issue with Blaine ever since he transferred, and it's time you man-up and quit acting like a child!"

"You wanna know what my problem is?" He's standing now, pointing accusingly at Blaine. "I don't like Blaine being in glee club! This isn't the Warblers, he can't hog the spotlight like he did there!"

"Finn!" Mr. Schuester immediately scolds him but there's silence after that. Kurt's too busy glaring at Finn to notice the tears welling up in Blaine's eyes, but he does notice Blaine grabbing his bag and storming out of the choir room.

"Blaine!" Kurt's out of his chair just as fast, bolting after him. "Blaine, wait!"

The silence continues after that, everyone staring after them.

* * *

Blaine is fast, but Kurt manages to see him dart out the doors towards the student parking and knows he's headed for his car. He's locked himself in the driver's seat so fast, Kurt has to knock on the passenger window to get his attention.

Blaine takes a minute and wipes his eyes before finally unlocking the door and letting Kurt in. Kurt doesn't immediately say anything, instead just reaches across the car and pulls Blaine into a hug.

He cries for about five more minutes before pulling back to face Kurt. "I'm sorry. We should get back to the choir room."

"Woah, wait." Kurt stops him. "You don't have to go back there. Finn's an _ass_ , and I'm _so_ sorry for that."

Blaine sniffles. "It's not you that needs to apologize."

"I'm still sorry."

"I think maybe I'll just go home."

Kurt isn't going to stop him from leaving early, but he still says, "Wait, there's something I want to tell you."

Blaine raises an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"We didn't get to finish our conversation earlier, before rehearsal started."

Blaine nodded, urging Kurt to continue. "I _am_ proud of you for doing this, but if you're not happy here then I want to fix that."

Kurt doesn't hesitate his next sentence. "If you want to transfer back to Dalton, I'll support you."

Blaine is silent, but he doesn't look upset. _That's good_. Kurt thinks.

Eventually Blaine replies, "Wait, really?"

Kurt nods. "I want you to be as happy as possible, and I can see now that that's not going to happen here. And I'm okay with it, because at the end of the day we'll still be together, no matter what school you go to. I should have thought about that in the first place."

Blaine's face is straight, and Kurt can't quite figure out what his reaction is. But then a grin suddenly breaks out on his and he pulls Kurt into another hug, and Kurt's pretty sure he has his answer.

* * *

Kurt pulls into his driveway and notices that Finn's car isn't there. He figures he's probably hiding out at Puck's house, knowing that Kurt has every intention to discuss with his dad what happened at rehearsal. Initially Blaine was supposed to come over for dinner, but he needed to get home and discuss transferring back to Dalton with his parents. He's pretty sure they're going to agree - money for it really isn't an issue and they were very skeptical about Blaine transferring to McKinley in the first place.

Kurt steps into the house, kicking his shoes off and tossing his bag to the side. He'd normally take everything up to his room but for now he needed to sit down and talk with his dad. He's sure he has a ton of missed calls and text messages from various people, but for now he's ignoring them.

"Hey dad!" Kurt calls out.

"Hey kiddo!" He instantly gets a reply. "In the kitchen!"

Kurt finds him seated at the counter, flipping through the paper. "How was your day? And do you know where Finn is? He's usually back by now and Carol hasn't heard from him."

Kurt takes a seat across from him and shrugs. "I'm assuming he's at Puck's house, but I don't know for sure."

Burt lowers his paper, giving Kurt his full attention. "How about Blaine? Isn't he supposed to come over for dinner tonight?"

Kurt shook his head. "He had to go home to discuss transferring back to Dalton with his parents."

"Wait, what?" Burt looks confused. "Did something happen between you two?"

"No, not us. More-so Finn."

"I'm confused. What did Finn do?"

Kurt sighs but launches into the full story, starting with how Blaine's phone had accidentally gone off during rehearsal and ending with Finn's dramatic outburst. Burt listens intently the entire time, his expression changing from confusion, to shock, to anger.

"Finn said that to Blaine?"

Kurt nods. "This has honestly been building up. I knew Blaine wasn't happy there, so we talked about it and he's just more comfortable at Dalton. That and he really misses his friends and Dalton-life in general."

"And what about you?" Burt asks.

"What about me?" Kurt responds, confused.

"Are you happy?"

Kurt doesn't reply right away. After leaving McKinley he thought all he wanted to do was go back. But he had to admit, Dalton had a charm about it that he missed. He had befriended a lot of people during his time there, and it became just as hard to leave them as it was to leave his friends at McKinley. Not to mention Kurt felt _way_ more challenged at Dalton than he did at McKinley, and that was something he enjoyed.

He and Karofsky had hashed it out, but that didn't mean that the bullying from other kids had slowed down. There wasn't as much physical bullying but the death stares he still received in the hallways were just as intimidating.

"Yes." Kurt finally replies, not really convincing himself. Then he changes his answer. "I don't know. It doesn't really matter. McKinley is affordable."

Burt shakes his head. "I'm going to explain something to you and I want you to listen carefully, okay?"

Kurt nods. His dad seems serious.

"When Carol and I first discussed transferring you to Dalton, we prepared for you to be there the full remainder of last year and this year as well."

That surprises Kurt, but Burt continues. "You honestly surprised us when you said you wanted to go back to McKinley, but you were so adamant about it that we let you without much argument."

He then looks Kurt right in his eyes. "Kurt, if Dalton is where you want to be, then we'll make it happen. No matter the money."

Kurt takes a breath. "But, the tuition-"

"Isn't an issue." Burt explains further. "We used our honeymoon funds to take care of your first semester, but we had a plan for later semesters. When your mom died, I took the life insurance money we received and placed it all into a fund for you. On top of that, we'd been adding money to it assuming part of it was going to be used for Dalton tuition."

At this point Kurt is practically speechless, but Burt continues. "The money is _there_. So I'm going to tell you again - if you want to go back to Dalton, then you _can_. It's _not_ an issue."

Kurt remains silent. This is _far_ from where he expected this conversation to go, but he doesn't turn down his dad's offer. Kurt always assumed that Dalton was a luxury they really couldn't afford, so he left, trying to save Burt and Carol some money.

"You let me know," Burt says. "and I'll make the call to Dalton. It's all up to you."

Kurt's got some _serious_ thinking to do.

* * *

Finn never comes home, but informs Carol that he's staying the night at Puck's house. So the dinner that was supposed to include five dwindles to three, and they just decide to order Chinese takeout. Burt takes the opportunity to discuss with Carol the possibility of Kurt transferring back to Dalton, but doesn't bring up the incident with Finn. That's another conversation for a different time.

After dinner, Kurt finds his phone and darts upstairs to call Blaine. He picks up almost immediately. "Hey Kurt!"

He sounds much happier than he did earlier, for which Kurt is thankful. "Hey. Feeling better?"

"A lot better. Mom and dad agreed to me going back to Dalton - they're actually really excited about it."

"I'm glad." And he truly is. He's happy that Blaine is going to be happy again. "I talked to my dad about what happened."

"And what did he say?"

"The conversation actually took an... _interesting_ turn."

"What do you mean?"

"I told him how you were going back to Dalton and he... asked me if _I_ wanted to go back."

Blaine pauses for a moment before responding. "Oh. That's not what I expected."

"Me neither. But Blaine, I've considered it."

"Really?" Blaine asks. "Kurt, you don't have to do that for me. I know McKinley is where you want to be."

"I _thought_ it was." Kurt quickly replies. "But there are a lot of things about Dalton that I miss. I have fun with New Directions when we aren't being tortured or arguing, but I had fun with the Warblers too. I always just thought that Dalton was a temporary solution because of the tuition, but my dad says that they have the money if I want to go back."

Blaine sighs. "Kurt, you _know_ that I'd love to have you there. But you need to make this decision for you. Come to Dalton if it's truly where _you_ want to be."

They talk for another twenty minutes or so before hanging up, and Kurt takes some time to himself to sit and think without anyone else's opinion. He weighs the pros and cons of both schools, which turns out to be a daunting task.

He knows he has all the time he needs but by the end of the night, Kurt's made a decision.

* * *

His phone has been going off all day but Kurt ignores it, only replying to his dad and Blaine. He knows it's rude but he _really_ doesn't have the patience to talk to anyone else.

Making his way towards the choir room he takes a deep breath. What he's about to do isn't going to be easy, but it has to be done.

He's about five minutes late so all eyes are on him when he enters the room, and everyone is suddenly shouting at him.

"Kurt!" Mercedes is the first to speak. "You haven't been in class all day, where have you been?"

"And where's Blaine?" Mike asks. "Is he okay?" Kurt sighs. At least _one_ person is concerned about Blaine. It only makes it that much harder to do what he's about to.

"Blaine's not coming back to McKinley." Kurt begins. "He's transferring back to Dalton."

"What?" Quinn asks. "Why?" Everyone else's faces range from shock to confusion.

"Is he seriously running away because I said one little thing?" Finn has the nerve to open his mouth, and that propels Kurt to finish what he started.

"This isn't _just_ about you, Finn! Not everything is!" Finn looks a little bit guilty, so Kurt continues.

" _None_ of you have been welcoming to him! Transferring here was harder for him than you'll ever understand, but you're all too worried that he'll take your solos! He didn't come here for glee club, he came here to make new friends and to be brave!"

It's silent for a moment before Tina speaks up. "What do you mean, to be brave?"

Kurt shakes his head, that's not his story to tell them. "It doesn't matter anymore. He's going back to Dalton." He pauses, then drops the bomb. "And so am I."

This is different than the last time he told them he was transferring. He's not crying this time, and he doesn't feel so sad about it. He watches as everyone digests what he just told them, and half of the girls have tears welling up in their eyes.

"You're _what_?" Finn finally answers.

"You heard me."

"So because Blaine's leaving you are too?"

Kurt rolls his eyes. "This isn't about Blaine, this is about me! I thought coming back to McKinley was what I wanted, and in some ways it is. You need to understand that I've considered everything - academics, atmosphere, the people - Dalton is better for me. And I'll miss all of you but I can't sit here all year and take mistreatment."

He takes a breath before continuing. "I always thought that Dalton was a luxury my parents couldn't afford, so I stayed assuming I was draining them of all their money, and then left when I thought McKinley was safe. They've made it clear that the money isn't an issue."

"So you'd rather sway in the background of the Warblers all year?" Puck has the nerve to say.

Kurt finds himself once again rolling his eyes. "You're missing the point."

"Kurt," He looks at Brittany, who's openly crying by now. "You can't leave again."

He looks around the rest of the room. Santana is consoling Brittany, but not crying herself. Mike holds Tina as she cries, who holds Mercedes hand while she cries as well. Rachel is wiping her eyes, trying to cover it up. Quinn, Finn and Puck look pissed more than anything, and Artie looks solemn.

"Yes, I can."

* * *

 **And that wraps up chapter one! I hope everyone that clicked on this story has it enjoyed it so far!**

 **For those interested, chapter two will be posted soon!**

 **Thanks for reading!**


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